2 weeks Ago
It was as exciting as any non-Thanksgiving win Easton has had in years and yet when a memorable 28-21 overtime victory over Emmaus on Friday night was complete, the Red Rovers had only one thought on their mind — see Matt Senneca. Will Day’s interception in the end zone ended Emmaus’ one overtime possession after Dorian Thomas scored on a 2-yard run on Easton’s first possession in OT. Day, who also scored a pair of touchdowns, was mobbed by his teammates after the game-ending interception as Easton celebrated after suffering two lopsided losses to Emmaus over the past two seasons.
With four wins, Easton has already won more games than it did in either the 2022 or 2023 seasons. Senneca, Easton’s second-year football coach, was taken away in an ambulance to a nearby hospital during the second quarter of the game. He was going through a battery of cautionary tests as the game ended, and is expected to be fine.
But Easton associate coach Bryan Falcone made sure everyone knew who the compelling victory over Emmaus in a matchup of two of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference’s best teams was for. “I just got off the phone with Coach Senneca and he’s doing fine and will meet us when we get back to Easton,” Falcone said. “That [win] was for Coach Senneca obviously.
Just like with any family when someone is hurt, someone is down, we’re going to take care of it. When it comes to players, it’s always the next guy up and as a staff we’ve got each other’s back. We asked what hospital and we were going to go by him to see him with the buses, but he’s going to see us in Easton.
” Falcone said he wasn’t sure what the health issue was that caused him to leave. “When we got off the buses here he was hurting and he said something was off,” Falcone said. “He was talking to our trainer.
He was staying on top of it. And then sometime in the second quarter, he said he’d better go and he did.” Senneca likely found a way to monitor the game and had to be proud how his team fought back from a 14-0 deficit and took control of the game with 21 straight points.
However, the Red Rovers couldn’t nail down their fourth straight win without plenty of late drama. After taking the lead on two Cole Ordway touchdown passes, Easton failed to add on and opened the door for Emmaus to tie the game and nearly win it. The Green Hornets, who had won three straight after a 20-17 Week 1 loss to Neshaminy in overtime, took over at their own 30 with 6:48 left in regulation and got a 63-yard run by Reilly Bechtel to the Easton 1.
The Red Rovers stopped Bechtel carries twice for no gain and a 5-yard penalty and incomplete pass set up fourth-and-goal from the 6 but Cooper found a wide-open Samuel Stephan for the TD and Will Buck added the PAT to tie with 3:54 left in the fourth quarter. Easton went three-and-out on its next possession and Emmaus got the ball back at midfield with 1:59 left. A 24-yard pass to Bechtel got Emmaus to the Rovers 18 and a 10-yard by Cooper got the Green Hornets to the 5.
But in a frantic and loud atmosphere, Buck, who was instrumental in keeping Emmaus in the game with 70 and 55-yard punts, was just a little wide right on a 22-yard field goal try as time expired. The Cornell-bound kicker didn’t get a chance to kick again as Easton scored and then got the stop on the interception. “I went down cramping in the second half and that’s a hydrating issue and that’s on me and I let my team down by having to sit out for awhile,” Day said.
“I need to be a better team player and captain, but fortunately we got the win. On the last play in OT, I just saw my D-line getting pressure and it was a scramble drill for them. I had to get on my butt and fortunately, the pressure made him throw a bad ball and I was able to get it and seal the win.
” Day, while excited, was staying low-key about the game’s meaning. “We didn’t prove anything, really,” he said. “Emmaus is a great team.
Tonight we just had to keep our composure because everybody was in tears when Coach Senneca was taken away. We just said we had to win the game for him and we did. As soon as we get back in the locker room I want to call him.
” Easton 0 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 7 — 28 Emmaus 7 – 7 – 0 – 7 – 0 — 21 FIRST QUARTER EM: Jerek Cooper 74 run (Will Buck kick), 6:19 SECOND QUARTER EM: Cooper 1 run (Buck kick), 5:42 EA: Will Day 2 run (kick failed) 1:26 THIRD QUARTER EA: Will Day 11 pass from Cole Ordway (Noah Borlucci kick), 7:19 EA: Jasir Frutchey 33 pass from Ordway (Mason Stout pass from Ordway), 3:41 FOURTH QUARTER EM: Samuel Stephan 6 pass from Cooper (Buck kick), 3:54 OVERTIME EA: Dorian Thomas 2 run (Borluca kick) In a series that didn’t begin until the start of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference in 1976, Easton went into Friday night’s game with a 29-11-1 series lead over the Green Hornets. The Red Rovers won 15 times in the first 18 meetings with one tie. The teams only played once between 1997-2006.
Since 2006, the series has been remarkably even with Easton winning 10 of 19 games. In 2018, Emmaus beat Easton 31-24 in the District 11 6A semifinals. In 2020, Easton gained revenge with a 28-23 D11 6A quarterfinal-round win.
In 2023, Emmaus rolled to a 42-14 win at Easton, getting three touchdowns by Jasiyah Banks and two TD passes and a rushing score from Josiah Williams. Easton was held to 140 yards on offense. Easton returns to Cottingham Stadium to host Stroudsburg on Friday night while the Green Hornets visit Allentown Central Catholic at 7 p.
m. Saturday in a rematch of a game they lost 27-24 last year on a 51-yard field goal by Luke Myers as time expired..
